Stress is an inevitable part of life. As your child encounters new situations and people throughout their youth, they’re bound to feel a little nervous, frustrated, or angry. While stress can be hard for children and teens, they can learn skills to successfully navigate difficult situations with your help.
Estimated reading time: 3.5 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
Whether you're dealing with toddler tantrums, a middle-schooler's meltdown, or the emotional darts of a teen, one thing is clear: it is up to adults to be stable figures for children to build emotional intelligence. But what are the essential ingredients to ensure that you cultivate emotional development and social intelligence?Many parents I talk to have the mistaken idea that they must be perfect parents to be good parents. The opposite is true.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Emotional Intelligence & Fitness
We love our kids! And all every parent wants if for their children to be happy and successful. Sometimes we unintentionally do the opposite of what cultivates healthy self-esteem. For example, there’s hardly a parent in the world who hasn’t said something like this to a child in a moment of exasperation: “Look at your brother—he jumps right on his homework after school! Why do I always have to nag you to get yours done?” “Your sister’s a whiz at math, but all you want to do is draw.” Or “Stop giving me attitude! Can’t you just be polite like your brother?”
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
The idea that smoking is cool may have skipped a generation or two, which should have impacted the tobacco companies and caused a major hit to the industry. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case—thanks largely to the rise in vaping, especially among teenagers.
According to a 2019 survey, an estimated 5 million teenagers regularly use e-cigarettes. Up to one million use them every day. Cigarettes may no longer be cool, but e-cigarettes or vapes have taken their place. Learn about the dangers of vaping and what you can do to support your teenager.
Estimated reading time: 3.5 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
This morning, a friend of mine shared a social media post about a 12-year-old boy who had just died from suicide. They attribute some of the boy’s discouragement to bullying, though I’m unsure if it was online or offline. The timing was uncanny as I was writing this article. It stopped me in my tracks.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
Parents across the nation are increasingly aware of the dangers of phone addiction and excessive screen time. In younger children, this addiction can be remedied somewhat simply by having an honest conversation about screens and by taking away screens after your child has used up their allotted time.
However, for teenagers, cell phone addiction is harder to break and usually more entrenched than it is in younger children. That’s because today’s teens have grown up in the iPhone age, and much of their social life is conducted through social media apps on their phones.
Estimated reading [...]
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
You are probably familiar with the impatience of children of all ages. “Mommy, how much longer?” or “Daddy, why do we have to wait?” or “Can we go home now? I’m bored.”
These are just a few murmurings from an infinite well of questions coming from my little girl. Whether we’re at the grocery store, doctor’s office, or simply in the car driving, she lacks patience. But I don’t blame my little one… everything was instant when she was a baby! They cry, we come. They’re completely dependent on us. So it’s understandable when young children have difficulty waiting. After all, their brains are [...]
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
Boundaries are important for everyone when it comes to maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health. As a parent, you’re in a unique position to showcase that importance to your teenagers. By modeling and teaching your teen to set healthy boundaries now, you can set them up for better personal health and stronger relationships in the future.
Estimated reading time: 4.5 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
Nowadays, kids are almost always on their smartphones, tablets, computers, etc. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, U.S. kids ages eight to twelve on average tend to spend around four to six hours daily watching or using devices with screens. In addition, teens in the U.S. spend up to nine hours of screen time.
Of course, most everyone enjoys screen time. However, as the parent, it’s wise to keep track of how long your child is on their device(s).
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting
From an early age, we’re inundated by the concept of success through television, movies, the music industry, social media, and other people.
But the pressure to succeed doesn’t only affect children. Many parents also feel the strain. Some parents resort to extreme measures to help their children prosper in academic and extracurricular activities.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Posted in Perfectly Imperfect Parenting, Brain Fitness, Mindfulness and Perspective
